Boxing Judges and Refs Removed After Suspicious Results

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Vladimir Nikitin of Russia, left, began to celebrate his victory over Michael Conlan of Ireland on Tuesday. Afterward, an angry Conlan accused the amateur boxing federation of corruption.CreditCreditChristian Petersen/Getty Images

RIO DE JANEIRO — Several referees and judges have been removed from the Olympic boxing competition after officials reviewed their decisions, fueling suspicion of dubious results in some matches at the Rio Games.

A spokesman for the federation that governs the boxing tournament said Wednesday that the names of the referees and judges who were dismissed, and the matches that were tainted, would not be released because he did not want to “besmirch their families.”

The international federation, known as AIBA, said in a statement that the committee that reviews officiating had assessed all 239 bouts at the Rio Games through Tuesday and had “determined that less than a handful of the decisions were not at the level expected.”

The federation statement also said that “the concerned referees and judges will no longer officiate at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”

The move came a day after Michael Conlan, an Irish bantamweight, accused the federation of corruption and suggested that Russian boxing officials had bribed judges. Conlan’s accusations came in an expletive-filled tirade after he lost his quarterfinal to Vladimir Nikitin of Russia. Nikitin won a unanimous decision, but the public response to the verdict suggested that many observers believed Conlan should have won.

The judges’ decision in the Conlan-Nikitin fight was not the first at the Rio Games to draw scrutiny. On Monday, the crowd jeered when another Russian fighter, Evgeny Tishchenko, was awarded a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan, who appeared to have won the bout handily.

Two of the three judges who scored Conlan’s bout — Jones Kennedy Silva do Rosario of Brazil and Udeni Talik Bandara Kiridena of Sri Lanka — returned to officiate on Wednesday. All three judges had scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Nikitin.

The judges of the Tishchenko-Levit fight, the heavyweight gold medal match, were also unanimous in their decision. Only one of them, however, made a repeat appearance. Armando Carbonell Alvarado of Colombia judged two fights Wednesday, while Michael Gallagher of Ireland and Kheira Sidi Yakoub of Algeria judged none.

The boxing federation did not say how many decisions it deemed insufficient, and it did not specify what was wrong with those decisions. None of the decisions will be overturned, AIBA said.

Coaches at the boxing venue Wednesday said that the scoring system left a lot of room for interpretation and that the judges, although well trained, were not infallible. They also expressed relief that the issue of inadequate judging was being addressed, although they dismissed the accusations of corruption.

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An Olympic bout on Monday featuring Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan, left, and Evgeny Tishchenko of Russia also drew scrutiny. Levit appeared to have won handily, but Tishchenko was awarded a unanimous decision.CreditValdrin Xhemaj/European Pressphoto Agency

“I’m glad some action was taken,” said Billy Walsh, a coach of the United States team. “Anybody can make a mistake, but it’s happened too often.”

AIBA invited people with evidence about bribing judges to step forward.

“With regard to corruption, we would like to strongly restate that unless tangible proof is put forward, not rumors, we will continue to use any means, including legal or disciplinary actions, to protect our sport” and the referees and judges “whose integrity is constantly put into question,” the federation’s statement said.

The federation chooses from 36 judges and referees at the Rio Games. AIBA picks five judges to work each bout and prohibits judges from a fighter’s country, or from a country in conflict with a fighter’s country, from working a bout.

After each fight, a computer program randomly determines which three of the five judges’ scorecards will be counted. The other two scorecards are thrown out.

Still, questions about judging will continue. “If they really prove that there was some kind of corruption, it is really very sad, but for now there’s no proof of anything, only rumors,” said Mateus Alves, a Brazilian coach.